GRETNA, La. (AP) — Closing arguments are expected outside New Orleans in the road rage killing of a former NFL player.

Ronald Gasser is charged with murder for shooting Joe McKnight. His lawyers say he feared for his life when he pulled the trigger.

But prosecutors say witnesses and forensic evidence call into question Gasser’s claim that McKnight was lunging at him before he opened fire.

The killing in the suburb of Gretna stoked racial tensions. Gasser is white and McKnight was black, and many questioned why Gasser was not immediately arrested. Authorities have said they were able to gather more evidence this way.

McKnight was a Louisiana football standout who went on to play at the University of Southern California, the New York Jets and the Kansas City Chiefs.